


Two's Company (And Three's a Crowd)

by rndmnrd



Category: B1A4, VIXX, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: 2hwan, 2hwan rise, Confusion, Fluff, M/M, Oblivious Kim Seokjin | Jin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-29 13:49:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13928406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rndmnrd/pseuds/rndmnrd
Summary: Going out for dinner with two of his best friends should be comfortable and relaxing. Instead it leaves him confused and with more questions than answers.And/or:Jin doesn't know when KenAndSandeulAndJin became KenAndSandeul and Jin.





	Two's Company (And Three's a Crowd)

**Author's Note:**

> I absolutely love love LOVE 2hwan, so this comes from somewhere close to my heart. Enjoy!!
> 
> Edit 12/31/18: About halfway through I changed some wording and added 3 or 4 sentences b/c it didn't really make much sense.

From the minute they walked through the door, Seokjin knew something was up. 

For starters, Junghwan and Jaehwan walked into the restaurant together. The only thing wrong with that was the fact that they lived on opposite sides of the city. There was no way that they could arrive together unless they were doing something without him. Just the thought of that made Seokjin frown. Meaning no disrespect to the other two, but Seokjin really was the glue between the three of them. Jaehwan and Junghwan didn’t click straight away and Seokjin’s friendship was the only thing that kept them hanging out. It took a while but now they’re fairly good friends. But usually, they all stayed together. They were each other’s best friends outside of their respective group members, why would they exclude him?

The other problem was the fact that they were late. Junghwan, for all intents and purposes, was punctual to a fault. Being more than a few singular minutes late was enough to upset him. Jaehwan on the other hand, lived perpetually twenty minutes late. No matter what time he was told he could never seem to get there on time. Between the two of them, they walked into the restaurant 6 minutes after 7, and Seokjin _knew_ something was up.

The third problem was the look on both of their faces. Junghwan was smiling a little too wide, a little too strong. His eyes didn’t change and his eyebrows were pulled up a little too high. He was forcing it; it was one of Junghwan’s fake smiles, his camera smiles from when they’ve been working too long or too hard. Jaehwan, on the other hand, was the most stoic Seokijn’s ever seen him, more straight-faced than any performance he’s ever given. Seokjin’s eyes swept over Jaehwan’s pulled down eyebrows and set jaw. 

Like he said, something was different.

After a moment, Seokjin stood and raised a hand, signaling to the two were he was and they shuffled over to him. 

“Have you ordered?” were the first words out of Jaehwan’s mouth. Junghwan settled into the seat across from Seokjin, waving politely, and Jaehwan stayed standing.

Stunned slightly by his friend’s unusual bluntness and clipped words, he nodded, “I ordered the meat and a few bottles of soju.”

“I want ramen too.” Junghwan whined. 

Jaehwan snorted and started shucking off his jacket and bag, handing them off to Junghwan with a smile that was uncharacteristically soft. “Of course you do,” he muttered under his breath, “I’m going to order a couple of lunch boxes too, I think. Do you want anything else, Jin-ah?” 

Seokjin just shook his head and watched Jaehwan try to flag down a worker. By this point Junghwan’s expression had smoothed over somewhat. His smile was still pulled too wide but his eyebrows had fallen slightly and his eyes had started to turn up so hopefully whatever was wrong had passed. Even Jaehwan’s blunt face had broken into something significantly softer when Junghwan started whining; although it had gone back to being blank and stoic when he addressed Seokjin. Once Jaehwan had placed his order, two lunch boxes and an order of ramen for Junghwan, he settled into the seat beside Junghwan.

That set off new alarm bells in Seokjin’s head. As trivial as it is, every time they’ve ever gone out to eat, one of them would always pull a chair to sit at the end of the table rather than directly next to either of the other two. They were guys, and even though both Junghwan and Jaehwan are natural cuddle-bugs, they all strayed from having skinship like that with each other. Among friends it just felt weird for all of them. But now, Seokjin was watching Jaehwan and Junghwan sat shoulder to shoulder, legs certainly pressed against each other under the table as well, and they both were acting totally normal. 

“So,” started Junghwan, “how was America, mister Big-Shot-BBMA-Winner?” His tone was light and teasing, a stark contrast from Jaehwan’s continued unusual bluntness. Seokjin mulled this over in his head as he distractedly described the unreal experience of going to the BBMAs with the rest of Bangtan. 

Something was still up with Jaehwan, Seokjin could tell. As he was talking about all the fans that came to support Bangtan at the BBMAs, Jaehwan was restlessly glancing around the restaurant and occasionally playing with his phone until the device inevitably shut off. Jaehwan muttered a curse under his breath when it did and began searching through his bag, probably for his charger. 

Junghwan’s brows furrowed and he reached over to pluck the device from Jaehwan’s hands. “You’re doing it again.” He muttered under his breath and Jaehwan’s face fell at Junghwan’s annoyed tone.

“ ‘M sorry,” He murmured back. Seokjin had to try very hard not to let his eyebrows rise at the pitiful tone in Jaehwan’s voice and the arm that was trying to discretely wind itself around Junghwan’s middle. Junghwan scoffed lightly under his breath and squirmed before Jaehwan could get a good enough hold on him. 

Jaehwan let out an embarrassing choked off sound when Junghwan brushed him off. He paused, thinking something through, and then ducked his head to butt his forehead against Junghwan’s shoulder. He did this twice before he twisted his head around until Junghwan would meet his eyes. 

Junghwan snorted, his lips slowly quirking into a smile. His hand found it’s way onto the nape of Jaehwan’s neck, rubbing softly for a moment and then he tugged gently at the hair there. He shook Jaehwan by his neck, Jaehwan limply letting his head get thrown around, and they both devolved into giggles releasing all the tension that had built up.

Seokjin had no idea what was going on. 

Mostly because his mind was reminding him of how drama-like the whole thing seemed. How Jaehwan’s pitiful noises and eventual submissive apology was how the main character of a drama often makes up to the love interest they hurt. That Junghwan’s stubbornness towards initial forgiveness and his eventual acceptance once Jaehwan yielded was just like aforementioned love interest in the drama. 

Then, just as suddenly as it had started, the two broke out of whatever trace they had gotten into, Junghwan poking at the meat on the grill with his chopsticks. Jaehwan finally pulled his phone charger out of his bag and plugged both it and his phone, which Junghwan reluctantly handed back over to him, into the wall just by their table. Seokjin just stared, practically slack-jawed in confusion. 

Junghwan glanced up at Seokjin with a casual and familiar smile which faltered slightly at he blank expression. “Sorry about that. Jaehwan’s been really attached to his phone recently,” said boy playfully smacking Junghwan’s arm as he spoke, “I’ve been trying to get him to disconnect for a while now. But every time he agrees, he always breaks in no time. Isn't that right?” Junghwan teasingly directs the question at Jaehwan who has yet to stop hitting him.

“I’m not attached to my phone! You know exactly why I’ve needed to stay on it.”

Junghwan rolled his eyes, “Yes, but you already got the part in Boys Over Flowers. Why do you need it so badly now?”

Jaehwan grumbled under his breath and Junghwan laughed loudly. Jaehwan huffed and looked back at Seokjin, “Anyway, you were talking about America, Jin-ah?”

“Y-yes,” Seokjin pushed out, “Like I said, it was absolutely incredible. All the people that were there supporting us, the cheers when we won… It was unbelievable.” Jaehwan smiled at Seokjin’s awe and excitement. A real honest smile, for perhaps the first time that night. At least, the first time that wasn’t directed at Junghwan. The uncomfortable weight on Seokjin’s shoulders got a little lighter at the sight of it. “What have you guys been up to while I was gone?”

“Not too much different that when you were here, to be honest. We got coffee and watched movies and all that,” Jaehwan answered softly.

Junghwan jumped in excitedly, “We went to an arcade a couple weeks ago and I managed to beat Jaehwan at one of those shooting games! You know, the one’s I’m usually terrible at? I beat him! Can you believe it?”

The other two guys laughed at his excitement and let the conversation flow into old memories.

An image flashed through Seokjin’s mind as they chatted: Jaehwan and Junghwan smiling stupidly at each other over coffee or dinner while he was away. Legs intertwined under the tables and sharing meals in the secluded corners of the restaurant. Them spending time together watching lame romantic comedies late at night at each other’s dorms, nearly empty bowls of popcorn and cans of soda left out after they fell asleep. Or them going to arcades well into the night, playfully shoving and prodding at each other in an attempt to beat the other at the games. The worst part of it all was that every scene in his mind felt so natural and normal; it felt like Jaehwan and Junghwan were a couple. But that was impossible. Right?

“For now though,” Jin said, clearing his throat in an attempt to clear his mind, “Bangtan is just going to be on break- at least musically. We have Bon Voyage coming up and stuff, but most of that is prerecorded anyway.”

Jaehwan nodded absently, “We’re on break too. They want to give us some personal time for our own projects. Taekwoon-hyung and Wonshik are going to have a comeback as VIXX LR soon though.”

Junghwan hummed in agreement, “Our company's just giving us some time now that we’re done touring. Dongwoo-hyung is gonna be doing some musical stuff too, so they’re waiting for him as well. Jinyoung-hyung’s got a few promising tracks for Oh My Girl too, so the company’s going to promote them for a while.”

Seokjin nodded along, continuing to look at his friends. Jaehwan had finally seemed to relax, the tension in his shoulders that had been there all night had finally gone away. Junghwan too had lost some of the nervousness that he came into the restaurant with, his face now melted into his usual expression. However, the two of them were still sat unusually close together, relaxed shoulders pressing even further together and Jaehwan’s hand straying in circles between the back of Junghwan’s chair, Junghwan’s opposite shoulder and the back of Junghwan’s hair. All the while his hand was soft, movements slow and purposeful. 

Seokjin was still very confused.

He tried very hard not to obviously stare, but it was hard given the sheer confusion he felt. _They just couldn’t stop touching each other._ He didn’t realize that he was failing miserably and staring directly at Jaehwan’s hand on Junghwan’s shoulder until the former coughed. Glancing up, he caught Jaehwan’s gaze, which was somehow strangely challenging as his hand drifted and ran through the back of Junghwan’s hair. Cheek’s reddening, Seokjin lowered his eyes back to his food. He chanced a quick glance at Junghwan, only to find the other boy staring at Jaehwan’s profile as he ate. There was a certain softness to Junghwan’s gaze when he looked at Jaehwan. Junghwan’s eyes and face are almost always soft, but the way that he looked at Jaehwan was different. Seokjin couldn’t place why, all he could tell was that there was something else behind his eyes when he looked that their friend. He was practically preening under Jaehwan’s hand. 

Seokjin dropped his eyes to his food again. 

Maybe he was being irrational. Maybe Seokjin was just nitpicking details that were nothing more than little nuances. Maybe he has just been away from his two best friends for too long and that separation was making him react oddly to the way his best friends are acting. Maybe it was that separation that made how they act seem different. 

But, it can’t just be that. Not when Junghwan is practically eating off of Jaehwan’s plate and Jaehwan isn’t throwing a big a fit like he normally would. Not when Jaehwan’s eating with his left rather than his right because his right arm is still wrapped around Junghwan. Not when the two of them are wrapped up in their own little world on their side of the table; soft murmurs and warm looks between them too quiet for Seokjin to hear. Not when this whole night has left him so _so_  confused.

Seokjin clears his throat, raises his eyes and tries his best to converse normally for the rest of the night. Apparently he must have been successful because the rest of the night passes quickly and soon the three of them are tucking away their credit cards and shrugging on their coats and scarves. They slowly make their way to the exit and loiter in the cold air just outside the door. 

“It really was wonderful to see you both again,” Seokjin started, smiling widely. This night was weird but that didn’t change the fact that it was nice to hang out with Jaehwan and Junghwan. 

Junghwan smiled broadly and nodded, “It was! We need to do this more often! Now that you're finally back!” He said teasingly and started forward to hug him. 

Seokjin smiled and gently returned the hug. Over Junghwan’s shoulder he could see Jaehwan smiling softly. He pulled back and started down the street to where he parked the company car. He glanced back to wave one last time at his friends but paused at the sight.

Jaehwan and Junghwan were still outside the restaurant and Junghwan was fussing with Jaehwan’s scarf. Jaehwan was looking down at him with a soft smile. He reached out and combed his fingers through Junghwan’s windblown curls causing him to look up at Jaehwan. Seokjin couldn’t see Junghwan’s face very well but, judging by Jaehwan’s laughter in response to his expression, it was something good. Junghwan rose up slightly onto his toes, leaning closer to Jaehwan-

Seokjin looked away. 

He shook his head, confused. His heartbeat was pounding in his ears and his cheeks were burning. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a quick moment. He thought back to one of the random sleep-deprived lectures Namjoon went on about homosexuality and morals and rights. _‘There’s nothing wrong with being gay.’_ Namjoon’s words echoed in his head, _‘Support them, don’t shame them.’_  

Opening his eyes, he smiled at the ground in front of him. If Jaehwan and Junghwan weren’t ready to tell him yet, that’s fine. He can wait. Hopefully one day they will be comfortable enough to tell him themselves. They’re his best friends, nothing is going to change that.

* * *

Bonus:

“You never tie this right.” Junghwan mumbled and reached out to retie the scarf around Jaehwan’s neck. 

Jaehwan looked down at Junghwan and let a smile take over his face. “Why should I bother when I have my wonderful boyfriend to help me?”

Junghwan scoffed and ducked his head to hide his burning cheeks. The two of them have been very discreetly exploring a romantic relationship with one another over the past few months. Casual meals and outings is what the media has labeled their dates. But, those dates have been successful and the past few months have made them happier than they’ve been in long time.

Jaehwan couldn’t help but chuckle at Junghwan’s shyness, a white puff of air fanning his face. He lifted a hand and buried his fingers into Junghwan’s unruly curls. He passed his fingers through Junghwan’s hair once and then another time before he felt the boy practically melt under the ministrations. He watched Junghwan’s eyes flutter lightly before they shut, a mixture of the petting and the alcohol in his system making him sleepy. He leaned his forehead against Jaehwan's collarbones and breathed softly. 

"I feel bad for how we treated Jin-ah." Junghwan whined softly eyes still shut, "He doesn't know about this and I think we made things really awkward." He opened his eyes to look up slightly at Jaehwan. 

Jaehwan nodded in response, the two of them had been acting weird all night and couldn't explain themselves. How could they explain a small lover's spat to their third best friend who doesn't know that they're dating? Jaehwan sighed, "We should talk to him again soon to clear the air."

Junghwan stiffened slightly, "You mean you want to tell him? About us?"

Jaehwan nodded again, "I was being an ass earlier. I'm really sorry. Seokjin is our friend and you're right, he would support us." His voice dropped to a whisper against Junghwan's hair, "I'm just scared Jungie, I'm really, really scared."

Junghwan hummed softly in response and sighed happily when Jaehwan's hands returned to his hair.

He let his fingers drift to the nape of Junghwan’s neck and Junghwan’s head lifted up a little. Carefully, Junghwan’s hands slide up from scarf to the tops of Jaehwan’s shoulders. Jaehwan wasn’t that much taller than him but he was tall enough that Junghwan had to roll up onto the balls of his feet in order to even with him.

This was dangerous for them. They were eye to eye, nose to nose, outside a public restaurant in low lighting. But they spent a whole night having to restrain themselves in front of Seokjin; a whole night of trying, and mostly failing, to keep their hands off each other. And now they were practically alone. As alone as they could be on a dark nearly empty street in front of an almost empty restaurant. But they were alone enough for Junghwan to be brave and close the distance between them. He pecked Jaehwan’s lips lightly. And again. And again until Jaehwan became brave enough to hold onto Junghwan’s waist to keep their lips together longer. 

Junghwan huffed out a laugh and dropped his heels. He nuzzled his nose lightly against the curve of Jaehwan’s jaw, smiling contently. Jaehwan shifted and pressed a light kiss against his forehead in response. 

Even though they couldn’t be completely honest in front of Seokjin, it was nice to have gone out with him and spend time with him. Hopefully someday soon they could tell him. But for now, they have each other. And that’s enough.

**Author's Note:**

> The world needs more 2hwan. And I will gladly provide. 
> 
> Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated and encouraged!! Thanks for reading!!


End file.
